Method for automatically forwarding and replying short message

ABSTRACT

A method for automatically forwarding and replying short message is provided. Firstly, a local user joins a message chat room. If the user presses a key for forwarding a message, the message chat room provides structuralized, modularized and hierarchy message menu to the user, else the local user waits for a plurality of pre-established reply messages provided by a server or a remote cellulous phone. At this time, the local user can press a modify key to modify the reply messages and the message chat room provides an editing window to facilitate modify operation. Afterward, the local user presses a send key after selecting a replay message.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a reissue application for U.S. Pat. No.6,971,064, issued from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/987,218,filed on Nov. 14, 2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for automatically forwardingand replying short message, especially to a method for automaticallyforwarding and replying short message, wherein a plurality of feasibleshort messages are stored in a mobile station or a server end tofacilitate message forwarding and replying task for user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are about five hundred million messages sent around the world permonth by estimation. Just as e-mail to computer, short messages are alsopopular to user of cellulous phone. More particularly, the WAP (wirelessapplication protocol) combining the service of mobile network andInternet skill also provides value-added data service for cellulousphone. Therefore, cellulous phone user can send textual message orgraphic message to his friend when verbal conversation is not convenientfor him.

However, text input is tedious work for cellulous phone user becauseextremely limited keys are provided on the keypad of the cellulousphone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method forautomatically forwarding and replying short message, wherein the localuser can select message from one of a plurality of pre-established replymessages and modify the selected message and then send the message.Moreover, structuralized, modularized and hierarchy menu is provided tothe local user.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method forautomatically forwarding and replying short message, wherein a server ora remote user can find corresponding pre-established reply messagesaccording to the packet sent from the local user and provide thecorresponding reply messages to the local user.

To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a methodfor automatically forwarding and replying short message. Firstly, alocal user joins a message chat room. If the user presses a key forforwarding a message, the message chat room provides structuralized,modularized and hierarchy message menu to the user, else the local userwaits for a plurality of pre-established reply messages provided by aserver or a remote cellulous phone. Afterward, the local user presses asend key after selecting a replay message.

The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be morereadily understood from the following detailed description when read inconjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the packet format in prior art message;

FIG. 2 shows the packet format in the message of the present invention;

FIGS. 3 to 7 show the operation windows in the message chat room of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 shows the operation flowchart of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows the format of a message packet of cellulous phone. Themessage packet of cellulous phone comprises a user define length (UDL)11, a user define head length (UDHL) 12, a plurality of informationelement identifier (IEI) 13, a plurality of information elementidentifier data length (IEIDL) 14, and a plurality of informationelement data (IED) 15. Moreover, the IEI 13 has reserved code values0-BF, and E0-FF.

In the present invention, the reserved code value 21 of the IEI 13 isdefined as the forward message in message chat room and the reservedcode value 22 of the IEI 13 is defined as the reply message for messagechat room. FIG. 2 shows the packet format of the forward message and thereply message of the present invention. The value stored in the IEIDL21(14′) indicates the data length in IED21 (15′). In the IED21 (15′) data,the first four bit of the first byte are defined as code of the firstlayer menu in the forward message, and the last four bit of the firstbyte are defined as code of the second layer menu in the forwardmessage. Moreover, in IED21 (15′) data, the second byte to the n-th byteare used to store string, graph, ring tone and motion picture datadefined by IEI21 (13′). The value stored in the IEIDL22 (14″) indicatesthe data length in IED22 (15″). Moreover, in IED22 (15″) data, the firstbyte to the n-th byte are used to store reply message and includestring, graph, ring tone and motion picture data defined by IEI22 (13″).

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the operation screen of a message chat room 3, asshown in those figures, structuralized, modularized and hierarchy menuis provided in the present invention, The operation screen comprises atop window 31 for displaying message sent by a remote user, a middlewindow 32 for displaying message sent by a local user and a bottomwindow 33 listing a main menu 331. The main menu 331 comprises followingentries: 1. inquiry, 2. mood, 3. weather, 4. invitation, 5. request and6. ask. Those entries are stored in the first layer menu of the IED21(15′). The local user can use arrow keys to highlight a certain entry inthe main menu 331 and then press a selection key 332 on bottom of thebottom window 33 to select this entry.

With reference now to FIG. 5, provided that the user select the entry 1:inquiry in the main menu 331, the screen in the bottom window 33 ischanged to display a sub menu 333 corresponding to the inquiry entry andcomprising following sub entries: 1. are you free tonight? 2. how abouta date tonight? 3. how about playing ball?. Those entries are stored inthe second layer menu of the IED21 (15′). The local user can use arrowkeys to highlight a certain entry in the sub menu 333 and then press asend key 334 on bottom of the bottom window 33 to send message in thisentry, or press a modify key 335 on bottom of the bottom window 33 tomodify message in this entry. When the user presses the modify key 335to modify message in this entry, an editing window 336 appears in thebottom window 33 to facilitate the user to modify message, as shown inFIG. 6.

After the local user presses the send key 334 on the bottom window 33,the message initially stored in the sub menu 333 or modified by thelocal user is present in the middle window 32 of the chat room 3.Moreover, the displayed message is also written to related field of theIEI 21 (13′). The displayed message may be or may not be written to therelated field of the IEI 22 (13″), depending on following situations:

1. If the replying mechanism is provided by remote cellulous phone, therelated field of the IEI 22 (13″) is not present in the message packer1. The remote cellulous phone has an internal database storing aplurality of reply messages and the reply messages are displayed on thebottom window 33, which can be chosen by the remote user, as shown inFIG. 7.

2. If the replying mechanism is provided by a server, i.e. the serviceprovider has this function, the reply messages are written to therelated field of the IEI 22 (13″). The remote cellulous phone receivesthis message and the reply messages are displayed on the bottom window33, which can be chosen by the remote user, as shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 shows the operation flowchart of the present invention.

Step 801: a user joins a message chat room 3;

Step 803: whether the user presses a key for forwarding a message? Iftrue the process moves to step 805 else the process moves to step 804 towait for a plurality of pre-established reply messages provided by aserver or a remote cellulous phone and then a step 807 is executed;

Step 805: providing structuralized, modularized and hierarchy messagemenu to the user;

Step 807: whether a modify key 335 is pressed for modifying a message?If true, an editing window 336 is provided to the user to modify themessage in step 808 and then a step 809 is executed, else the step 809is directly executed;

Step 809: the message is complete and a send key 334 is pressed to sendthis message;

Step 811: does the user want to quit the chat room 3? If true, a step812 is executed to back the main menu of the cellulous phone and thewhole process is over, else the process moves back to step 803.

To sum up, the method for automatically forwarding and replying shortmessage has following advantages:

1. Providing structuralized, modularized and hierarchy message menu tothe user.

2. The effort of complicated and annoy text input can be reduced.

3. The provided message can be modified.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to thepreferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the inventionis not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions andmodifications have suggested in the foregoing description, and otherwill occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all suchsubstitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within thescope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for automatically forwarding and replying to shortmessages comprising the following steps: a local user joining a messagechat room; examining whether the user presses a key for forwarding amessage; if the user has pressed said key for forwarding said message,providing a structuralized, modularized and hierarchy hierarchicalmessage menu to the user, else the local user waiting for a plurality ofpie-established reply pre-established messages provided by a server or aremote cellular phone and the local user pressing a send key afterselecting a reply message; the message having a packet format comprisinga user defined length (UDL), a user defined head length (UDHL), aplurality of information element identifiers (IEI), a plurality ofinformation element identifier data lengths (IEIDL), and a plurality ofinformation element data (IED), the individual information element dataidentifiers containing an IED21 IEI21 indicating a forward message inthe message chat room and an IED22 IEI22 indicating a reply message inthe message chat room, wherein, a corresponding field of the IEI22 isnot present in the message packet when the reply message is provided bythe remote cellular phone, and wherein the reply message is written tothe corresponding field of the IEI22 when the reply message is providedby the server.
 2. The method for automatically forwarding and replyingshort message as in claim 1, wherein in the IED21 data, the first fourbit bits of the first byte are defined as code of a first layer menu inthe forward message, and the last four bit bits of the first byte aredefined as code of a second layer menu in the forward message; thesecond byte to the n-th byte are used to store string, graph, ring toneand motion picture data defined by IEI21.
 3. The method forautomatically forwarding and replying short message as in claim 1,wherein in the IED22 data, the first byte to the n-th byte are used tostore string, graph, ring tone and motion picture data defined by IEI22.4. One or more computer memories storing a message packet format datastructure comprising, for each of a plurality of messages, a userdefined length (UDL), a user defined head length (UDHL), a plurality ofinformation element identifiers (IEI), a plurality of informationelement identifier data lengths (IEIDL), and a plurality of informationelement data (IED), wherein each IEI contains an IEI21 indicating aforward message in a message chat room and an IEI22 indicating a replymessage in the message chat room, and wherein, for the individualmessages if a reply message is provided by a remote cellular phone, acorresponding field of the IEI22 is not present in the message packet;and if the reply message is provided by a server, the reply message iswritten to the corresponding field of the IEI22.
 5. A system,comprising: a server configured to communicate one or more messages to achat room via a remote cellular phone; wherein the one or more messagesare sent in one or more packets, the individual packets having a packetformat comprising a user defined length (UDL), a user defined headlength (UDHL), a plurality of information element identifiers (IEI), aplurality of information element identifier data lengths (IEIDL), and aplurality of information element data (IED), and wherein each IEIcomprises (a) an IEI21 indicating a forward message in the chat room,and (b) an IEI22 indicating a reply message in the chat room; andwherein when the reply message is sent by the cellular phone acorresponding field of the IEI22 is not present in the one or morepackets, and when the reply message is sent by the sever the replymessage is written to the corresponding field of the IEI22.
 6. Thesystem of claim 5 wherein: the IEI21 comprises n bytes, whereinindividual bytes have multiple bits; the first four bits of the firstbyte in the IEI21 are defined as code of a first layer menu in theforward message; and the last four bits of the first byte in the IEI21are defined as code of a second layer menu in the forward message. 7.The system of claim 6 wherein: the second byte to the n-th byte in theIEI21 are used to store string, graph, ring tone, and motion picturedata defined by the IEI21.
 8. The system of claim 5, further comprising:an operation screen configured to display a message sent by a remoteuser, a message sent by a local user, and a main menu configured todisplay a plurality of entries; one or more arrow keys configured tohighlight one of the plurality of entries displayed on the main menu;and a selection key configured to select one of the plurality of entriesdisplayed on the main menu.
 9. The system of claim 8 further comprisinga modify key configured to display an editing window on the operationscreen when the local user chooses to edit one of the plurality ofentries.
 10. A system, comprising: a message exchange area; and aplurality of pre-established reply messages displayed in the messageexchange area; wherein the plurality of pre-established messages areprovided to at least one of a cellular phone or a server; and whereinthe plurality of pre-established messages are sent in one or morepackets, the one or more packets each comprising a packet forming havinga user defined length (UDL), a user defined head length (UDHL), aplurality of information element identifiers (IEI), a plurality ofinformation element identifier data lengths (IEIDL), and a plurality ofinformation element data (IED), each IEI containing and IEI21 indicatinga forward message in the message exchange area and an IEI22 indicating areply message in the message exchange area; and if the reply message isprovided by the cellular phone, a corresponding field of the IEE22 isnot present in the one or more packets; and if the reply message isprovided by the server, the reply message is written to thecorresponding field of the IEI22.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein themessage exchange area comprises: an operation screen configured todisplay a message sent by a remote user, a message sent by a local user,and a main menu configured to display a plurality of entries; one ormore arrow keys configured to highlight one of the plurality of entriesdisplayed on the main menu; a selection key configured to select one ofthe plurality of entries displayed on the main menu; and a modify keyconfigured to display an editing window on the operation screen when thelocal user chooses to edit one of the plurality of entries.
 12. Asystem, comprising: a remote device including at least one of a cellularphone or a server; and a message display facility configured to displayone or more pre-established messages provided by the remote device;wherein the plurality of pre-established messages are sent in one ormore packets, the one or more packets each comprising a packet formatincluding a user defined length (UDL), a user defined head length(UDHL), a plurality of information element identifiers (IEI), aplurality of information element identifier data lengths (IEIDL), and aplurality of information element data (IED), each IEI containing anIEI21 indicating a forward message in a chat room and an IEI22indicating a reply message in the chat room; and if the reply message isprovided by the cellular phone, a corresponding field of the IEI22 isnot present in the one or more packets; and if the reply message isprovided by the server, the reply message is written to thecorresponding field of the IEI22.
 13. A system, comprising: means fordisplaying one or more messages; and means for communicating the one ormore messages to the means for displaying the one or more messages via aremote cellular phone; wherein the one or more messages are sent via oneor more message packets, the one or more message packets each comprisinga package format having a user defined length (UDL), a user defined headlength (UDHL), a plurality of information element identifiers (IEI), aplurality of information element identifier data lengths (IEIDL), and aplurality of information element data (IED), each information elementidentifiers containing an IEI21 indicating a forward message in themeans for displaying the one or more messages, and an IEI22 indicating areply message in the means for displaying the one or more messages;wherein when the reply message is sent by the cellular phone acorresponding field of the IEI22 is not present in the one or moremessage packets, and when the reply message is sent by the means forcommunicating the reply message is written to the corresponding field ofthe IEI22.